


57 Minutes

by reddies_spaghetti



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Car Accidents, Graphic injuries, I'm Sorry, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mentions of Blood, Possible Character Death, This is really sad, Trigger Warnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-13 07:41:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13565946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddies_spaghetti/pseuds/reddies_spaghetti
Summary: Richie counted the minutes until the emergency services found them. Fifty Seven.





	1. the crash

**Author's Note:**

> I am so fucking sorry for this. I am. It’s actually been working away on my brain for a few days and that’s me just had the guts to write it out. 
> 
> I am also really bad at tagging so like, if any of you think a warning should be in there, let me know so I can put it in! 
> 
> This is really sad so proceed with caution.

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

Richie wanted to rip his hair out at the constant beeping of the machines that filtered through the corridor and into the waiting room. He couldn’t tell you how long he’d been waiting here, the cut on his forehead stitched up and a sling keeping his sprained wrist in place.

_A cut forehead and a sprained wrist._

Everytime he closed his eyes, all he could see was the truck hurtling towards his car, all he could hear was the screeching of his brakes and the smashing of glass. The crash had caused a major pile up on the road and as far as he was aware, three people were dead and two were in critical condition.

One of the two being Eddie.

_His Eddie._

It had been date night. It was supposed to be a romantic evening. It _had_ been a romantic evening. Richie had taken Eddie out to the new Sushi restaurant that had opened the next town over, and then they had gone for a walk in the park. It was still somewhat light out, being the height of summer and when they reached the small lake that sat in the middle of the park, Richie had gotten down on one knee and asked Eddie to marry him.

Eddie had said yes.

They hadn’t even been engaged an hour before the universe decided to rip them apart in the worst way possible.

Eddie’s last words still rang in his ears, overcoming the sounds of the crash itself;

“ _We’re definitely going to have a wedding in the fall. It’s my favourite season. Just us and the losers. No parents, no stress, just us. It’ll be ama- RICHIE LOOK OUT!”_

Richie had only taken his eyes off the road for a brief second, a fucking _second._ Some truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and lost control, spiralling straight into them, hitting Eddie’s side of the car and causing it to flip, smashing into two other oncoming cars.

When Richie had come to his eyes scanned his surroundings. The car was down a banking, out of view from the main road, the hood of the car smashed up against a tree trunk. He could feel blood trickle down his face and his heart rate skyrocketed as he remembered he wasn’t alone in the car. _Eddie._ “Eds,” he croaked, voice hoarse from where the seatbelt had contracted against his throat. He turned his head and let out a hoarse scream as he took in the sight of Eddie, unconscious next to him.

From his position, he could see the bruises already forming on Eddie’s face, the blood trailing from his mouth, his nose, his head. Nausea filled Richie’s stomach and he tried to shift his position, to get closer to Eddie, even if it was just to feel his pulse, but was too far away.

He was too far away, and Eddie was deathly still. Another cry broke out from Richie’s lips as he desperately tried to reach Eddie’s body, to touch him. He had to make sure he was okay. That he was alive. His eyes tried to focus on his chest, to see if it was moving, but there was just so much _blood._ His heart was hammering against his chest, tears springing into his eyes, “No no no no. _Eddie!_ Eddie you don’t get to die on me! Eds fucking wake up!”

There was nothing he could do, he couldn’t move. He was stuck, watching the love of his life as he bled out right in front of him. He was going to watch Eddie die in this car. If he wasn’t already dead.

Just then, Richie’s eyes focused and through the blood stained and glass covered clothing, he saw it. Eddie’s chest rise and then fall. He was breathing!

_Barely._

Richie knew he had a mouth on him, and he knew it annoyed a lot of people, but in that moment, when they were so close yet so far from help, Richie used his voice. He screamed, he cried, he swore as loud as he could in the hopes that someone would hear him and come rescue them.

Rescue Eddie.

Who was still unconscious.

So Richie started talking to him.

“ _Eds, Eds please wake up. You have to wake up Eds. We’re getting married remember? Remember we’re going to have a fall wedding. Just us, just us and the losers and it’s going to be perfect. Baby you have to wake up though, you have to wake up and be alright. You have to be.”_

“ _Remember when we were kids? I used to climb through your window because your mother hated me so much that she’d slam the door in my face if I knocked on it. I wonder what she would say when you tell her we’re getting married.”_

“ _I was thinking that Georgie could be our page boy? He would love that so much, and Bill would probably cry.”_

“ _You could wear a white tux and I’ll wear black, but I’m definitely going to wear a t-shirt with a tux on it underneath, no arguments there baby, it’s happening. I can just imagine your face when you see it. You’ll pretend to be pissed, but you’ll secretly love it. I know you will.”_

“ _I love you so much Eddie, so so much baby. Please wake up.”_

Richie talked and he talked and he talked. He talked until he couldn’t talk anymore. At the same time, he counted the minutes until the emergency services found them and removed Eddie from the car to get him into an ambulance. _Fifty Seven._ Just under an hour.

He was allowed to travel in the ambulance with him, and he watched with a shell shocked expression as Eddie flatlined three times. He had to sit there and watch as his fiancé  _died_ three times.

At some point, the paramedics removed the ring that he had only _just_ put on Eddie’s finger less than three hours before and slipped it into a plastic zip-locked bag, placing it with his other belongings.

The mess of Eddie’s body, his face will forever be etched into his memory. In the light of the ambulance he could make out the swollen bruises on his face, the way his nose was crooked to the side signalling that it was broken, his blood stained lips. As he moved his eyes further down Eddie’s body, the cuts that littered his arms and chest made the bile in Richie’s stomach resurface.

Quickly, he grabbed a bag and threw up his dinner. The lady paramedic was at his side, running a soothing hand down his back in an effort to calm him down.

It wasn’t working.

When they arrived at the hospital, Eddie was wheeled away from him and as the doors to the Surgery Room swung shut, Richie was sick again. This time all over the pristine floor of the ER.

A nurse had seen to his injuries and led him to the waiting room to take his details, along with Eddie’s. The police had come in a few hours later, informing him about the driver, and that three people were dead.

Richie wanted to throw up again because no-one had come to speak to him about Eddie yet.

There was a lot of running around, nurses and doctors everywhere. Every voice made Richie’s spine stand up straight and he held his breath.

He couldn’t lose him. Eddie was the only good thing left in his fucked up life. If he lost him then Richie would truly be lost himself.

It was then, at that thought, that Richie finally started crying. Sobbing hysterically into his hands as the floor spun beneath him. The last thing he remembered before he fainted was a concerned look of a nurse as she rushed to catch his falling body.

Fifty-Seven minutes it took for the paramedics to find them after the accident.

Fifty Seven minutes.


	2. the aftermath

When Richie came to, he was in a hospital bed, a needle pinched into his arm delivering pints of liquid into his bloodstream. For a moment, Richie forgot about how he ended up here, why he was in a room that smelled of antiseptic wash, surrounded by beeping machines.

Then he remembered.

The car crash.

_Eddie._

Richie shot up off the bed as best as he could, restricted by the wires and needles in his body. Why was he hooked up? There was nothing _wrong_ with him. Outside his door, he could hear voices, familiar voices. His mother and father.

And Eddie’s mother.

Oh fuck.

If they had called their parents, then it must be bad, really bad and that thought made Richie want to vomit all over again. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the voices, to make out what they were saying. He needed to know _something_. He needed to know if Eddie was alive, if he was okay.

“ _Thanks to your son- my baby is-”_ Sonia.

“ _Sonia, it wasn’t Richie’s fault that this happened. Did you not  hear what the police said? It was a driver who fell asleep at the wheel.”_ His father.

“ _If your son hadn’t taken Eddie to that restaurant then Eddie wouldn’t be in the ICU right now fighting for his life! I have no-one else to blame but your son. I hope he’s aware that he’s never going to see Eddie again after this. Not a chance.”_ Wait. What? No. He had to be able to see Eddie, he had to make sure he was okay!

“ _Sonia, Richie is Eddie’s emergency contact. He’s actually permitted to see him more than you are right now.”_ His mother, god he loved his mother.

Silence followed, and Richie assumed that Sonia had stormed away, to speak to a doctor about changing Eddie’s records. He knew she wouldn’t be allowed to do that, only Richie had that authority, as Eddie’s next of kin. Something that Eddie had asked him to be two months after they had finally moved in together and Eddie was free from his mother’s grasp.

Shoes scuffed against the squeaky clean floor and the door to his room opened, revealing Richie’s mother and father, who looked as though they had been to hell and back. His mother had bags under her eyes and his father’s suit rumpled, tie undone and hair askew. He must have come straight from the office. His eyes trailed further down and they rested on the form of his younger sister, Rosie, who had her bottom lip pulled between her teeth with worry.

His mother must have just grabbed everything and rushed to the hospital, not stopping to drop Rosie off at the babysitters. He tried his best to smile at his younger sister, to make her feel better, even though he was the one in a hospital bed. “Hey Rosie, no tears allowed, remember?”

Slowly, Rosie let go of her mother’s hand and walked towards the hospital bed, climbing up and joining her brother, careful not the hurt him. “Are you going to be okay Richie?” She asked quietly, her voice wavering.

Once again, Richie felt his heartbreak into two parts. Using the hand that wasn’t hooked up to the drip, he moved it into Rosie’s hair, trying to sooth her. “I’m going to be just fine, Rosie. Don’t you worry about little ol’ me,” he sent her his best smile, hoping that it would calm her, but she just looked more upset.

“What about Eddie?” Her eyes were full of tears and she was becoming blurry as Richie’s filled with his own. His mother was by his side immediately and lifting Rosie off the bed.

“I- I don’t know sweetheart,” Richie croaked out, because he _didn’t_ know. No-one would tell him anything. He was left out of the loop and all his brain could register when he thought of Eddie, was his still body lying just out of reach in the car.

“Rosie why don’t you go with your father and get us something to drink?” His mother spoke up and his father took Rosie’s hand, leading her from the room so Richie was alone with his mother.

“Just tell me,” he croaked, meeting his mother’s eyes. “How bad is it mom?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, but he knew it would be better than what his brain was giving him.

Maggie sat on the end of his bed and took his hand, “It’s bad baby. When he was in surgery, Eddie flatlined three times.” _Five._ “He lost a lot of blood and had to have three transfusions to get him stable,” She ran a hand through Richie’s curls, “but he is stable. For now. The doctors put him in an induced coma. He suffered severe trauma to the head, and they aren’t sure what the results of that will be when he wakes up. If he wakes up.”

Richie was silent, the words running through his mind and he closed his eyes. His mother just sat there, next to him and holding his hand. They must have sat there for at least ten minutes before Richie opened his eyes again. “I want to see him. Can I see him?”

“I’ll go get a doctor okay? I’ll be right back.” Richie nodded his head and his mother pressed a kiss to his brow before leaving the room. He lay there on the bed for what felt like hours before his mother returned, a doctor in tow.

The doctor was a woman, bright blonde hair, blue eyes and a sympathetic smile. Richie could tell that she had been in situations like these more than he could count. He couldn’t imagine being in her shoes, having to deliver not only good news to families, but also the unbearable. “Mr Tozier, I’m Doctor Jamieson. I’m glad to see you’re awake, you gave our nurses a little scare back there.”

“I passed out, I remember,” Richie spoke softly and Doctor Jamieson checked his vitals and took a seat on the bed next to him.

“You were in shock, and sometimes it takes a while for your brain to catch up with the rest of your body. Good news is your blood pressure has come down considerably and you seem to be much more hydrated than you were a few hours ago.” Carefully, she moved to his arm and removed the drip, placing a band aid to stop the blood. “You want to see Mr Kaspbrak am I right?”

Richie nodded his head, “Please, I need to see him, please?” He moved to sit up on the bed, giving Doctor Jamieson his best pleading look that he could muster. “I just need to see him, I am begging you, please?”

“He’s in a critical condition, he’s in an induced coma do to trauma to the head but I’m sure your mother explained all this to you.” She sighed, “We don’t know the full extent of the damage, he could wake up and be fine, but there is a very high chance that he will have some form of amnesia. I won’t beat around the bush, those chances are higher than not.”

“So if he wakes up, he won’t remember who I am?” Richie asked, tears filling in his eyes once more as the doctor nodded.

“If Mr Kaspbrak wakes up, there is a very high chance he won’t remember who _anyone_ is,” she spoke softly and stood up, heading back to the door. “Clean up, and then I’ll take you to the ICU myself.”

 

* * *

 

The walk to the ICU was long and excruciating. His mother had offered to come with him, but he had said no, he needed to do this on his own. As Doctor Jamieson led him through the double swinging doors, the first person he laid eyes on was Sonia Kaspbrak.

She hadn’t noticed him yet, so it gave Richie the opportunity to take in how much she had changed since the last time he’d seen her. She was bigger, put on some extra weight, her hair was thin, turning grey at the roots and he swore he could see little beads of sweat trailing down her neck. Holding back a shudder, he moved to turn his eyes away from her, but just then, she looked up and their eyes met.

Richie knew what she thought about him, it didn’t take a genius. She hated his guts, she blamed him for corrupting her son, for making him gay and now, now she blamed him for this. Her eyes darkened considerably and she stood up. “He needs to leave. I don’t want him anywhere near my son. If I’m not allowed in to see him, then neither is he.”

Doctor Jamieson held up a hand to silence her, cutting her off before she broke into another one of her rants. “I’m afraid that you don’t have a say in whether Mr Tozier visits Mr Kaspbrak or not. He is listed as his first point of contact therefore he can see him if he pleases.”

“I’m Eddie’s mother! I should be the one deciding if he can see my son and I say no!” Sonia was about to create a scene, and Richie was so close. Eddie was just through those doors.

“If you don’t calm down Mrs Kaspbrak I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Doctor Jamieson announced, keeping her voice calm and firm. Sonia looked as though she was going to say something else, but she eventually huffed and returned to her seat. “This way, Mr Tozier.”

Richie followed her through the doors and his eyes widened as he took in the scene. Eddie was hooked up to various machines, wires piercing his skin at various places on the body. Bandages were wrapped around his head, his eyes were bruised black and his skin was a pale white. Richie felt a sob rise up out of his throat as he walked over to his fiancé, sitting on a chair by the edge of his bed and taking his hand.

“Oh god, Eddie. Eddie I am so sorry, this is all my fault.” Richie rested his head against the clean white sheets of Eddie’s bed and sobbed, his tears soaking the sheets and his body trembling. If Eddie woke up, he wasn’t going to remember who he was, he was going to have to start all over again and make Eddie fall in love with him.

Richie wasn’t sure if he could do it. He barely knew how he did it to begin with, but to recreate their whole relationship? That was going to be the hardest thing that he would ever have to do.

The losers were there for him, through thick and thin. Ben made sure he showered everyday and took care of his personal hygiene and Beverly had taken over his morning radio show so that he wouldn’t get replaced. Mike cooked him dinner and brought it to the hospital because he didn’t want Richie living off of the crappy hospital food and crappy takeaways and Bill took the responsibility of feeding their cat and bring Richie fresh clothes. Then there was Stan, his best friend, who stuck by his side and let him cry into his chest when there was no-one else around.

Sonia didn’t visit much, she kept as much distance from Richie as possible and because Richie was always with Eddie, this limited her visiting times. Doctor Jamieson kept him informed that she made daily calls to the hospital to check up on her son. His parents and Rosie visited a lot. Rosie always brought pictures that Richie had hung up around Eddie’s bed in an attempt to make it more comfortable, more personal. The Losers were convinced that it worked. Richie? Not so sure.

It had been a month since the accident and there was still no sign of Eddie waking up. It was driving Richie insane, just watching the love if his life lay there, still and motionless on the hospital bed. The doctors tried to reassure him that it would take time, that Eddie would wake up when he was ready. They also encouraged Richie to talk to him, that if he did Eddie would be able to hear what he was saying.

So Richie talked.

He would spend hours at Eddie’s bedside just talking, replaying some of their most precious moment back to him, as much as he could remember anyway. At times Richie felt as though it were working, that Eddie really could hear him, but then he looked his motionless body and those thoughts vanished.

He just wished he wasn’t so fucking useless.

 

* * *

 

It was dark. Pitch black dark.

Nothing seemed familiar, nothing seemed comfortable or safe. It was a feeling of complete and utter dread, darkness with no sign of light.

It remained that way for a while, dark and cold, until there was a spark in the distance. A spark of light, and a voice.

“ _Eds, Eds please wake up. You have to wake up Eds. We’re getting married remember? Remember we’re going to have a fall wedding. Just us, just us and the losers and it’s going to be perfect. Baby you have to wake up though, you have to wake up and be alright. You have to be.”_

Eds. That’s him name. His name is Eddie. Edward Kaspbrak.

That voice, that voice was Richie. Richie Tozier. His boyfriend.

No.

His  _fiancé._

Richie’s voice broke through the darkness and Eddie’s mind started to clear, memories started to come back. The car accident. They were in a car accident, and if Richie was talking to him, it meant Richie was alright.

But Eddie wasn’t. If he was alright, he’d be able to wake up.

Eddie tried. He tried to open his eyes, to answer Richie’s questions, to calm his sobs, to let him know that he could hear every word.

It was useless, and Eddie just had to lie there, listening to the world go by and his friends suffer. Listening to that god damn machine:

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

“ _If that machine beeps one more fucking time, I swear to god”_

Eddie’s eyes opened and he was met with more darkness. The machine beeping in the background, the squeaks of the nurses shoes on the corridor floor as they did their nighttime rounds. His eyes blinked, adjusting to the fact that he was able to see, that he was awake and could move and _talk._

Another groan escaped his lips at the machine and he reached a hand out for the buzzer that was sitting by his bedside, pressing down on it just once. It wasn’t long until the room was swarmed with doctors and nurses, a sea of unfamiliar faces crowding around him. His eyes darted around the room as the fawned over him, taking his blood pressure, his heart rate and all the other necessary vitals. He was looking for Richie, his fiancé Richie, who was nowhere to be seen.

Richie had only gone to get some coffee. It was just after three am, and he could feel his eyes dropping but he couldn’t sleep, _wouldn’t_ sleep. If Eddie had woken up when he wasn’t there, Richie wasn’t sure what he’d do.

And that was exactly what happened. As he rounded the corner he saw doctors swarm Eddie’s room, causing him to drop the coffee onto the floor before he was running towards the door, grabbing a nurses arm, “Is he okay? What’s happening?”

The nurse turned around and gave Richie a bright smile, “Why don’t you go in and see for yourself Mr Tozier,” she nodded to the door before walking off.

Richie turned to the open door in shock. What did she mean by- _no._ No she couldn’t mean Eddie was awake? Could she? His palms grew sweaty as he took a few steps towards the door. His eyes landed on Eddie’s instantly, he was sitting up on the bed, the doctors checking him over and asking him a set of questions. He was awake. He was _awake._

“ _Eds”_ Richie breathed, forgetting momentarily that Eddie could very well have forgotten who he even was. “Oh my god, Eds, you’re awake.”

Eddie looked up, and their eyes met, Richie’s mouth running dry, tears pooling in his eyes. Eddie was silent, and Richie was beginning to think that he had lost his memories, when he finally broke into a smile and reached his hands out.

“Come here you idiot,” Eddie croaked and Richie bolted over to the bed, ignoring the doctors surprised yell as he leaned onto the mattress, pulling Eddie close and pressing their lips together.

“You’re awake. You’re awake and you remember me,” Richie sobbed as he pulled away, all his emotions over the past month coming to a head. He felt Eddie’s fingers in his hair, holding him close as best as he could in his still weak state.

“Remember you? I don’t think I could ever _forget_ you. You’ve made quite the impact on my life Mr Tozier,” Eddie whispered, pulled Richie’s head back so he could look at him properly. “I remember everything.”

“Everything?” Richie whispered back. If Eddie remembered everything, that meant he remembered the accident.

“Yeah, everything. It wasn’t your fault Richie, no matter what anyone says,” Eddie spoke seriously, which made Richie’s eyes widen. Before he could say anything, Eddie cut him off, “I could hear you. Talking. When I was in the coma. You helped keep me grounded.”

Richie leaned forward to brush their lips together, just softly, “I love you Eddie Kaspbrak. I love you so fucking much.”

“Tozier,” Eddie answered, taking Richie aback, “Not Kaspbrak. Tozier. If you think we’re waiting to get married after this, you are sorely mistaken. I want to marry you as soon as I can.”

“Really?” Richie asked quietly, “You’re sure?”

Eddie pressed their foreheads together, “I’m sure. I am so sure. I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life. I love you Richie, and I- I’m pretty sure I almost died.”

“You did. You did die. You flatlined three times Eddie. I lost you three times,” Richie was crying again and Eddie tugged him down so they were lying close together on the hospital bed.

Eddie closed his eyes, just briefly, his fingers running through Richie’s hair, “That just makes my point even more valid then doesn’t it? What do you say Tozier, want to make me your man?”

Richie laughed, a wet loud laugh and he nodded his head, finally looking up at Eddie. He reached a hand up to brush his fingers down over Eddie’s cheekbones, “Fuck yeah I do.”

It was going to take time for the two of them to recover from what happened, both physically _and_ mentally. They had each other to lean on though, as well as the support from their friends, they were going to get through this.

Together.

 


End file.
